


Because I Can't Help It

by GachMoBrea



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: "The Race of His Life", AU, Barry is just Very Emotional OK?, Canon Divergence, DC Legends References, Everyone on Team Flash knew about Snart's Time Traveling, Gen, I don't know, Intuitive Snart?, OOC, Observant!Snart, S02E23, Sad Barry, Snart drops in for a long chat, Snart is just Super Smart OK?, alternating pov, angry Barry, another fix-it, lying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 08:18:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7632220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry is on his front porch, looking though the window at the others inside the house, knowing what he has to do to make things right...<br/>...Then Snart shows up.</p>
<p>(Wait, What?)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Because I Can't Help It

"That's why I'm so sorry. But I have to do this."

"Before you run off to do something stupid."  
Barry jumps, spinning to look at the owner of the familiar drawl.  
Leonard Snart is standing in the middle of the speedster's yard and he isn't looking too good. The criminal turned time traveler is nearly bent over where he stands, body swaying back and forth ever so slightly. His Cold Gun is missing.  
"I would appreciate it if you didn't," Snart finishes, then passes out and starts to crumble to the ground. Barry speeds to him in time to catch him.

"Iris!" Joe smiles, a little bit of a laugh adding volume to his daughter's name. "Do you remember the time Barry tried rescuing that cat from the tree?"  
"Oh, yeah," the reporter rolls her eyes dramatically at the memory. "He was so determined to help the thing, then was equally offended when it nearly sliced his face in two!"  
"I think it's safe to say that Barry tends to go to extremes when it comes to helping people," Caitlin smiles.  
"Or furry animals determined to kill him," Cisco chuckles, reaching for another slice of pizza.  
The front door bursts open and Barry carries Snart's body inside.  
All five occupants in the living room instantly jump to their feet to see the reason for the loud entrance.  
"Captain Cold?" Cisco points to the criminal in the hero's arms. "What is he doing here?"  
"Caitlin," Barry carries Snart over to the now empty couch, while the three who were sitting on it move out of his way. "He just showed up outside and passed out. I don't know what wrong with him. Can you?"  
"Of course," Caitlin swallows her surprise and worry over seeing the criminal and rushes over to take the man's pulse. He other hand goes to his forehead and she frowns, "He's burning up. We need to get him to the lab. I can take care of him better there."

Barry runs Snart to a medical bed at STAR Labs first, then brings Caitlin to the room. Joe and the others follow behind in the detective's car.

"Snart has a high fever and his pulse is all over the place," Caitlin informs the others after checking over her patient. "There's an unusual burn mark on his left hand that's already healed, but other than that I have no idea what's wrong with him."  
"Could his time traveling be causing negative affects on his body?" Joe asks, arms crossed over his chest.  
"I still don't know what Captain Cold of all people was chosen to travel through time," Cisco grumbles, slightly ticked off that a criminal would be needed to save the world.  
Caitlin glares at her teammate before turning a more pleasant expression to Barry, "Do you have any idea how he got to your front yard in the first place?"  
"No," the speedster shakes his head. "Suddenly, he was just there."  
"Maybe that Hunter guy realized Snart was a bad egg and dropped him off the first place he could?" Cisco shrugs.  
"What about Rory?" Caitlin frowns at her friend's inability to let his anger go. "He was taken with Snart to the time ship as well. Why wasn't he there too?"  
"Time captains need fire-crazy crooks more than cold hearted criminals?" the genius shrugs again.  
"I think we should ask Snart," Joe uncrosses his arms to raise his hands in an attempt to calm the genius down. He looks to Caitlin, "Do you have any idea when he'll wake up?"  
"It's hard to know," the scientist shrugs, glancing back at her patient lying still on the bed. "Whatever happened to him, it traumatized his body. There are signs of internal bruising one second, and then none the next."  
When she gets five sets of confused looks she tries to explain again, "It's almost as if Snart is going back and forth from being injured to being healed."  
"Maybe there was a time explosion?" Wally offers, confused about what everyone's talking about but understanding enough of it to guess.  
Cisco spits out a sound of disbelief, "Like Captain Cold would needlessly let himself get blown up."  
His teammates look at the genius surprised.  
"I might not like the guy," Cisco rolls his eyes. "But you know Cold's always got, like, three plans rolling around in his head at once. Letting himself get blown up?" he scoffs. "I doubt that would even be on the table."

"Well, speculation isn't going to do us any good," Iris sighs, looking at the wounded criminal. "We'll just have to wait for him to wake up and tell us his story."  
"I'll stay here," Barry volunteers without waiting a beat. "You guys go home. Get some rest. I'll call you when he wakes."  
"Barry," Iris frowns, concerned. "Are you sure?"  
"Yeah," Joe adds. "We can stay too. You don't have to wait here alone."  
"Thanks for the offer but," Barry shrugs as he gives them a pained smile. "I think I need some time alone."  
His foster father nods in understanding, he pats the young hero on the shoulder once before walking out of the lab. Wally and Iris follow after their father.  
"Don't let him touch anything, Barry," Cisco warns his friend as he and Caitlin leave too. "Don't you let him scheme his way into nabbing STAR Labs property, you feel me?"  
"I got it," Barry waves them off, eyes turning to the wounded man once his friends have gone. He whispers to himself, "I got this."

\--- 

Everything feels hot.  
Everything feels cold.  
Everything hurts.  
He can't feel anything.  
Snart rolls back and forth as his hand burns then ices. He can hear his blood pumping in his veins as his heart tries to fly out of his chest.  
There's a voice, maybe more, nearby. They're so close but too far away.  
Where's Mick? Did Sara get his partner out before it was too late?  
Did they finally kill of Savage?  
What about the Oculus?  
Did it explode?  
Explode.  
Explosion.  
Barry?

Snart opens his eyes with a shout. His left hand hurts and he pulls it to his chest to cradle it with his right.  
"Snart?" Barry's voice startles Snart for a second, but as his vision clears to see the speedster better his chest also calms down enough to stop heaving breathlessly for air.  
"Scarlet," Snart tries for a casual drawl, but it's more of a dull statement. "What happened?"  
"I'm supposed to ask you that," the hero frowns. "What do you remember last?"  
Snart closes his eyes, brings his good hand to his sweaty forehead to wipe at it will clear away his foggy mind.  
"I blew myself up," he answers eventually when the memories stop swirling around in his head. "At the Oculus. Mick was going to do it, but I stopped him. I held down the lever and the place blew."  
The criminal opens his eyes again to see a wide-eyed hero staring at him.  
"What?"  
"Nothing," Barry shakes his head, trying to shake himself of whatever he's thinking. "I just-It's just," the hero shrugs. "I never pictured you as the self-sacrificing kind."  
Snart grins, "Well, it wasn't my first choice but it was apparently the only way to stop the Time Masters."  
"Time Masters?" Barry repeats. "Who're they? Wasn't hunter a Time Master?"  
"Yes and no," Snart's strength is returning with every second. He can hear his usual drawl becoming more obvious and clear, "The man got kicked out after his leaders decided to play around in the Time Line and killed off his family. They're really a bunch of robed losers who think they know what's best for everybody."  
"Hunter's family was murdered?" the speedster looks like he's swallowed something sour. "Is that the real reason he recruited you and the others?"  
"Pretty much," Snart shrugs. "Killing Savage was really the side mission to keeping his family safe."  
"So is this Savage guy dead now?"  
The criminal frowns, looking down to the rectangular shape permanently burned into the skin of his left palm, "I don't know. He had run off with Kendra while we were dealing with other issues."  
"I'm sure the others got him," Barry says confidently. "What's important now is how you're feeling."  
"Peachy," Snart smirks, looking up to the hero. "But I could use a shower and change if you'd be kind enough to get me a change of clothes?"  
"What-Where-How can I do that?" the speedster sputters, unsure.  
"I'll give you an address you can run to," Snart pushes the covers off his legs. "There should be something of mine laying about and you're fast enough to find them, then," Snart pulls out the IV and attachments to the heart monitor, pushing the 'off' button when the machine protests. "After I'm feeling refreshed you can tell me all about the stupid idea you were having on that porch."  
"Stupid idea?" Barry's brain goes blank. "What are you talking about?"  
"Come now, Barry," the criminal smirks. "You didn't have the face of someone who was about to do something heroic," he slides his legs over the side of the bed and leans a little closer to the hero. "You had the face of a broken man about to make a bad decision because he thinks he can't deal with his problems."  
Confusion is replaced with anger and hurt as Barry's hands ball into fists at his sides.  
"You don't know what I've been through, Snart," the speedster warns the criminal.  
Snart tilts his head, considering, "You lost someone. Someone important."  
Barry blinks, surprised at the man's ability to read him.  
"Don't tell me that Snow or Ramon left the team?" the criminal shakes his head. "No, it's not that. Perhaps Iris turned you down when you confessed your undying love to her?"  
"How-?" Barry's anger is growing as he continues to stare back at the blue, piercing eyes looking at him.  
"Well?" Snart pushes himself off the bed, only swaying slightly before using the bed to steady his legs. He doesn't avert his gaze from the hero. "Out with it."  
"My dad's dead," Barry blurts out. He doesn't know why he tells the criminal on demand like an obedient puppy. The information just flies out of his mouth.  
"Zoom killed my father right in front of me. In the same place that Reverse Flash killed my mother," Barry's chest is heaving with the pain and hurt of the memories playing in the back of his mind. Snart's cool confidence has changed to one of masked sympathy. For whatever reason, Barry decides to push on, "While you were out traveling the stars, or time, or whatever you were doing, I was here saving our city from a monster from another earth."  
The speedster takes a closer step to the criminal, "And what did I get in return? I lost the only family I had left!"  
Chest still heaving in anger and hurt, Barry steps away from Snart, daring the other man to mock him about his pain.

"I'm so sorry, Barry," Snart says softly, just as softly as he did when they were working with Lewis to steal the diamonds and the elder Snart shot the hero.  
Barry blinks, surprised at how earnest the other man sounded.  
"But you're wrong," the criminal adds with a sad smile.  
The anger returns full force as Barry's face burns. He bites out a, "What?"  
His harsh tone does nothing to shake Snart's cool attitude, "I said, you're wrong."  
"Wrong about what?" the speedster bites out again.  
"You still have family," Snart tells him, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "You've got Joe and Iris and the brain squad."  
The crook lifts an eyebrow, "Or did the five of you get into a fight while I was away?"  
Snart doesn't understand. He can't understand. It was a waste of time telling the crook anything.  
"I'll go get your clothes," Barry mumbles, running out of the room.  
Snart sighs, "You don't even have the address."

He's halfway to his own house before Barry realizes he never got the address from Snart. Cursing wildly, he stops in his own room to look through his wardrobe for something the other man can wear.  
"Barry?" Joe's voice calls from downstairs. "Is that you up there, son?"  
'You've got Joe...'  
"Yeah," Barry calls back loud enough for his foster father to hear. "Just picking up some extra clothes real quick." He decides on some loose fitting jeans and a plain, black T-shirt. It should work for Snart.  
"Is Snart awake yet?" Joe's voice sounds closer and Barry can hear him walking up the steps.  
Once again, Barry doesn't know what's controlling him as he decides to lie.  
"Nah, not yet, but," Barry shoves a few other choices into a duffle bag he finds in his closet. "Just in case it takes a while, I thought I'd bring a change."  
Joe appears in his one second before he can make his escape. The older man's face is one giant frown.  
"Are you sure you're okay there alone, Bear?" he asks softly.  
"Yeah, Joe, I'm fine," Barry forces a convincing smile on his face. "Try to get some rest and I'll talk to you in the morning, okay?"  
"Yeah, sure," Joe shrugs, adding, "Unless Snart wakes up sooner, of course."  
"Of course," Barry shrugs, then runs out of the room and back to STAR Labs.

It's a good thing the speedster grabs a few extra pairs of clothes. As soon as he stops back in the lab, his outfit catches on fire and he drops the duffle to pat the flames out.  
A chuckles has him inwardly groaning and looking over to an amused looking Snart.  
"Thanks for the little show," the criminal drawls, looking over the hero carefully. "You do that often?"  
Barry bends over to grab the duffle up again as his cheeks heat, "Side affect of my speed."  
"Hence the leathery looking hero get-up," Snart remarks, stepping closer to the hero.  
"It's not leather," Barry instantly corrects. "It's-"  
"Don't care!" Snart cuts him off, taking the duffle from his hands and opening it. "I'm guessing these are yours?"  
"Yeah," Barry's cheeks still burn as he watches the criminal frown at his clothes. "If you'd rather put back on what you're wearing?"  
"No," Snart sighs, picking out the first outfit Barry had grabbed. "These will do until I can get my own things," he tosses the bag back to Barry. "Thanks."  
"You're welcome," Barry holds the duffle in front of himself protectively while the criminal looks around the Cortex where they were standing.  
Snart's piercing, blue eyes turn back to Barry, "Don't suppose you could show me where the showers are, could you?"  
"I can, I will, this way," Barry childishly keeps the bag in his front as he guides Snart to the showers.  
"Thanks," Snart winks at the hero before closing the door to the bathrooms in his face.  
"You're welcome," the speedster tells the door lamely. Sighing, he goes to the locker room to change into a less-singed outfit.

As Barry waits for the criminal to finish with his shower, his brain tries to figure out why he hasn't called the others to tell them of the man waking.  
'Caitlin might need to run tests on him,' his brain says first. 'What if there are other side-affects from what happened to him? He said he blew himself up!'  
Barry sighs, rubbing his hands over his face as his brain adds, 'Cisco won't be too happy to see him. He already had an attitude about Snart being there.'  
'What Cisco wants isn't the most important thing,' another part of his brain supplies. 'And what are we going to do about Iris?'  
'...and Iris and the brain squad.'  
Growling, Barry pushes himself to his feet. He should call the others. Let them know Snart was up and about. Or maybe he should just forget about the man completely and do what he decided to do before the crook even showed up in his front yard.  
'You had the face of a broken man about to make a bad decision because he thinks he can't deal with his problems.'  
Snart was wrong. If Barry went back and saved his mother like he should have last time, then none of the bad things that happened would happen. Both of his parents would be alive. There wouldn't be any Metahumans. No one would need The Flash.  
Would he even be The Flash? No. Not if he stopped Thawne from making the explosion. All Metahumans would cease to exists, a lot of pain would be avoided, and The Flash would never be born.  
That was his plan.  
That was the best plan. For EVERYONE.

...Right?

 

"With all that thinking your brain might explode," Snart drawls from behind Barry.  
The speedster looks to the criminal leaning against the doorway to the locker room. The shirts a little too tight in the chest and the pants aren't quite long enough, but all in all it works for the crook.  
"You're still thinking about doing something stupid, aren't you?" Snart asks with a knowing smirk. "Are you going to tell me that it's just because you lost your dad?"  
"Just because your dad was crap, doesn't mean mine was," Barry gets to his feat, hands back into fists at his sides as he seriously considers punching the other man.  
"Everyone loses someone," Snart frowns. "get over it."  
Barry speeds the man into the wall, feels a little joy when the crook's head smacks harshly backwards against the surface, causing Snart to wince.  
"How can you be so cold?" Barry ignores the face he's using a pun to address the man's callousness. "Don't you have any feelings? Don't you care about anyone else other than yourself and Lisa?"  
Because Barry knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Snart at least cared about his younger sister.  
"Where's your 'good in you' speech now, Scarlet?" Snart challenges, sounding the king of confidence even though he was at the mercy of the speedster. "Maybe you've discovered the 'bad in you'? Maybe you've decided to take over the decision making just because you have the power to change things?"  
Barry's hold on the criminal falters just a bit, his mind reels back with the realization of Snart's words.  
"The Time Masters thought they needed Savage, a blood-thirsty, murdering psychopath, so they allowed him to kill whoever he wanted to kill, even the innocent wife and child of one of their own."  
Barry lets go of Snart and takes an unsure step backwards.  
"So what is so important that the Scarlet Speedster thinks he needs to do it without talking to anyone else about it?"  
"I have to save my mother." And there it is again. The compelling feeling to lay out his heart to the criminal standing in front of him. But, since it's already out, "I have to go back and stop Reverse Flash from killing my mother so that my father doesn't go to prison and Thawne never causes the particle accelerator to explode and the Metahumans to exist," Barry takes a breath. "I have to stop the hole in the multiverse from forming. I have to prevent Iris and Joe and Cisco and Caitlin from ever being in harm's way. I have to turn Central City back to normal for everyone's sake."  
"Because?" Snart presses.  
"Because?" Barry repeats, confused. "Because I owe it to them! Because no one deserves to see both of their parents die RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM! Because if this city was full of normal criminals then it would be safer for everyone! Because I love them, I have to change everything!"  
Barry stops, takes several deep breaths as he looks at the calm face of the criminal still standing against the wall where he was pushed to.  
"Because you are hurting," Snart says slowly, softly and almost kind. "You want the world to change for what you assume will be the better."  
The speedster freezes, lost in the calm blue sea of the other man's eyes.  
"If being with Rip aboard the Waverider taught me anything, it's time cannot be manipulated easy," Snart sighs, shoulders lowering ever so slightly in his own thought of defeat. "Just because you think going back and saving your mother will make things better, doesn't mean it will."  
Snart straightens his jacket, brushing off invisible dirt from his sleeves and pants while the hero absorbs the information. He smirks, patting the Barry on the shoulder, "Come on. I'll buy you a drink."  
"Alcohol doesn't affect me," Barry says quietly, allowing himself to be turned in the direction of the exit. "And you don't have any money."  
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Snart lifts Barry's wallet in the space between them. "And you can play designated driver then."  
"Criminal," Barry grumbles, taking his wallet back as he follows Snart out of STAR Labs and into the night air.  
The speedster will have to tell the others that the man was awake.  
But that can wait till later.  
There's no rush.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do NOT own the shows "The Flash" or "DC Legends", nor do I own the characters from said show.  
> {I just own the crazy ball of strange that I affectionately call "my brain".}


End file.
